Gas fired infrared burners are well known. The use of such burners in cooking equipment is also known. One cooking equipment arrangement incorporates one or more gas fired infrared burners into a burner box. The infrared burners are fed by a venturi system that mixes air with the gaseous fuel. The infrared burners in the burner box do not generally require, and are not provided with any flow of secondary air.
One issue with the above arrangement is the difficulty in using a pilot burner in connection with the arrangement. Specifically, a traditional pilot cannot be placed within the burner box that houses the infrared burners because a traditional pilot requires secondary air to remain lit. This issue has been addressed by placing the traditional pilot just outside the burner box and adjacent to a small opening through the wall of the burner box. When the burners with the burner box are to be lit, gas is fed to the burners and fills the burner box until some of the gas exits the small opening, which causes ignition of the gases in the burner box and thus the burners themselves. Such systems have a somewhat delayed ignition (due to the time required for gases to fill the burner box) and back firing of the burner due to the delayed ignition.
Therefore, it would be desirable to provide an improved ignition arrangement for gas fired infrared burners.